Internal combustion engine apparatus



Oct. 31, 1939. A A. BRUNNER INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE APPARATUS Filed Feb., 5; 1937 2 Sheet-Sheet 1 I Tm I BY

ATTORNEYS Oct. 31', 1939. A. BRUNNER INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE APPARATUS.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 5, 1937 BY M MM? m ATTORNEYS Patented Oct 31, 1939 PATENT OFFICE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE APPARATUS Adolf Brunner, Winterthur, Switzerland, assignor to Sulzer Frres, Socit Anonyme, Winterthur, Switzerland Application February 5, 1937, Serial No. 124,344

In Switzerland February 12, 1936 6 Claims.

This invention relates to internal combustion engine power units, and particularly to units comprising hydraulic transmission gears through which the power is transmitted from the engine, and has for itsrobject the provision of a common control means whereby both the fuel supply to the engine and the torque transmitted through the hydraulic gear are controlled.

With power units wherein the power is transmitted from the engine or engines to the driven member or machine through hydraulic transmission gears, there is no co-relation between the loadand the speed of the engine. As a result the power unit may tend to be uneconomi- 15 cal in operation and, under some conditions, individual engine elements are liable to be subjected to undesirable stresses.

According to the present invention the common control means influences the fuel regulator and the hydraulic transmission gear so that variations in the engine speed are limited to a predetermined range and the torque transmitted through the hydraulic transmission gear tends to be maintained constant.- In this way the ratio of torque to engine speed can be made to follow a predetermined requirement so that the most favorable working conditions will automatically be maintained under all lead conditions. I

Preferably a speed-setting device is provided for altering at will the speed at which the engine is to operate. A device for setting the torque transmitted through the hydraulic transmission gear is conveniently operatively connected, 'as by means of a cam or cam gear, to the speed-setting device so that for any given setting of the speedsetting device, the torque-setting device will correspondingly set.

The hydraulic transmissiongear may com- 40 prise a bladed impeller driven by the engine circuit containing a bladed turbine wheel, with or without a bladed reaction member. The torque regulator may then control the torque transmitted through the hydraulic transmission gear by altering the position, the effective dimensions or the curvature of the impeller blades.

In another arrangement, the torque regulator.

may control the torque transmitted through the hydraulic transmission gear by altering the position, effective dimensions or curvature of the turbine blades or reaction blades.

The invention is applicable either to engines of the vaporized charge spark ignition type or to engines of the fuel injection compression igniso as to cause liquid to flow through a liquid 'the fuel injection pump may comprise a member having helical control edges and which is ro- 10 tated by the fuel regulator relatively to a member having a suction or by-pass port so that relative rotation of the said members will cause the quantity of fuel injected and also the timing of the commencement of injection to be altered. 16

Two arrangements, each embodying the invention, are illustrated diagrammatically and by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figurel shows one arrangement or combinago tion of apparatus in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a similar view of a modified arrangement;

Figure 3 is a vertical section, on an enlarged 5 scale, through the hydraulic transmission gear included in each of Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a vertical section, on an enlarged scale, through one of'the cylinders of the fuel pump, and

Figure 5 illustrates, on a larger scale, the arrangement of the control edges on the plunger of the pump shown in Figure 4.

In each of the arrangements shown in Figures 1 and 2, the engine I, which is of the fuel in- 35 jection compression ignition type, is coupled to a hydraulic transmission gear 2 through the crankshaft 3 and positive gear 4, the power being transmitted from the hydraulic transmission gear 2 through a second positive gear 5 to the o driven shaft 6 from which the power is transmitted to the point of consumption, say, the axles of a vehicle. The fuel is supplied to the engine l by a multi-cylinder fuel injection pump turbine wheel l2 being arranged in the circuit. The rods 9 act through a worm l3 to adjust a bevel gear l4 so as to vary the pitch of the impeller blades ll relatively to the direction of flow of the liquid through the liquid circuit, thus varying the torque transmitted. The impeller ll delivers liquid to the turbine wheel I2 which drives the gear 5 and therefore the shaft 6 so that, in accordance with working conditions, the power delivered by the shaft 3 to the hydraulic transmission gear 2, is transmitted therefrom to the shaft 3 at a reduced speed but with increased torque.

In each of the arrangements shown in Figures 1 and 2 the rod 8b of the fuel regulator connects to a rack 80 (Figure 4) engages with the toothed wheel of the sleeve 15 which is rotatable about a ported and fixed pump sleeve ll within which a pump plunger [6 is reciprocated by a cam shaft 1a., The fingers l5a arranged at the bottom of the sleeve 15 then engage in notches in the extension |6a of the pump plunger so that the latter is turned relatively with respect to its cylinder sleeve, in which it is inserted. Then the regulation results, which is shown in Figure 5. Each pump plunger I6 is furnished with two control edges I8, l9 as shown in Figure 5, these control edges cooperating with a suction, port 20 formed in the cylinder ll. When the plunger I6 is in 80 the rotational position relatively to the port 20 indicated at 'Ilmim, a minimum quantity of fuel indicated by F1 will be injected, while when the plunger I6 is in the rotational position shown at Tlmax. relatively to the suction port 20, the maximum quantity of fuel indicated by F2 will be injected. It will therefore be seen that by rotating the plunger 16 about its longitudinal axis the point at which, during the delivery stroke of the plunger IS, the control edge l8 covers the suction port 20 and injection therefore commences, will be altered, and at the same time the point in the delivery stroke of the plunger l6 at which the control edge l9 passes above the suction port 20 will be altered, thereby controlling the termination of injection. The control edge l8 thus determines the timing of the commencement of injection, while the control edge l9 determines the quantity of fuel injected. The minimum quantity of fuel indicated by F1 will be injected during the angle (11 of the pump cam shown in Figure 4, while the maximum quantity of fuel indicated by F2 will be injected during the crank angle (12 of the said cam. From Figure 4 it will be seen that the larger the quantity of fuel injected at each plunger stroke the earlier will injection commence.

In the arrangement shown in Figure 1 the common control means for the fuel supply and torque transmission gear is generally indicated at l. and comprises a centrifugal governor 2| driven by the cam shaft 1' and whose sleeve 22 is connected to one arm of a bell crank lever 23. The governor 2| is opposed by a spring 24 whose tension can be determined by raising or lowering a piston 25. For this purpose a screw-threaded spindle 26 connected to the piston 25 is moved longitudinally by rotating a bevel 21 by means of a hand wheel 28, hereinafter referred to as the speed-setting device. Adjustment of the speed-setting device 28 not only alters the tension of the spring 24 but also acts through the spindle 26 on a rocking lever 29 which causes vertical adjustment of a cam member 30. This cam member, hereinafter referred to as the torque-setting cam, acts through a rod and lever 3| on a ported sleeve 32,

and the bell crank lever 23 is connected through a rod 33 to a valve 36 arranged within the sleeve 32. The valve 36 cooperates with three ports in the sleeve 32 so as to control the supply of pressure medium such, for example, as oil from a supply pipe 31 to opposite sides of a servo-piston 38 arranged within a cylinder 39, the piston 38 being connected to the rods 9 and constituting therewith a torque regulator. I

With the parts in the positions shown in Figure l, the valve 36, fuel regulator, and governor sleeve 22 are in a normal or central position, the rotational position of each pump plunger l6 being in accordance with the position of the governor sleeve 22. Similarly the positions of the servotorque regulator 38, 9, and gearing l3, l4 correspond to the speed and torque settings. The position of the valve 36 relatively to the sleeve 32 is now such that pressure medium can neither flow to nor be discharged from the servo-cylinder 39, so that the pitch of the impeller blades ll remains unaltered.

If now the load on the driven shaft 6 increases, say, due to the vehicle having to negotiate an up-gradient, the speed of the shaft 6 and therefore of the turbine wheel l2 will fall. This reduction in speed causes the resistance to fiow of the liquid in the circuit 10 to increase so that the speed of flow of this liquid will be reduced. The resistance to rotation of the impeller H is therefore also increased, thus increasing the torque on the driving shaft 3. The speed of the engine I will thus also tend to fall and the sleeve 22 of the governor 2| will move downwardly. The fuel regulator will thus be operated so as to increase the fuel delivery from the pump 1 and at the same time move the valve 36 to the left, as viewed in the drawings. Pressure medium will now be delivered from the pipe 31 to the servocylinder 39 on the left of the piston 38, the pressure medium being discharged from the cylinder 39 on the right of the piston. The piston 38 is therefore moved to the right so as to reduce the pitch of the impeller blades H. The liquid delivery from the impeller II will now be reduced so that the torque transmitted by the hydraulic gear is also lower. As a result the speed of the engine will rise until the valve 36 is again moved to the right into the position shown, that is to say wherein it prevents either delivery of pressure medium to or discharge of pressure medium from the servo-cylinder 39. The governor sleeve 22, the fuel regulator and therefore the rotational positions of the pump plungers [6 will now be restored to the positions which they occupied prior to the process of regulation, the engine speed being restored to its original value as set by the speed-setting device 28. Thus, except while a regulation is in progress to meet an alteration in the load on the power unit, the engine I will be maintained under the same operating conditions.

In the event of the load on the shaft 6 being reduced, say, due to the vehicle arriving at a down-grade, the torque on the impeller II will now fall with the result that the engine I tends to speed up. The governor sleeve 22 thus rises so that the fuel regulator reduces the delivery of fuel to the engine and at the same time the valve 36 is moved to the right as viewed in the drawings. The servo-piston 38 is thus moved to the left and the pitch of the impeller blades II is increased. The torque transmitted through the hydraulic transmission gear 2 is thus also increased so that the engine speed is reduced until the valve 36 again reaches the position shown,

when the governor 2| and fuel regulator are again in their normal positions. The engine speed is now restored to the original desired value and the fuel pump 1 is-reset to its original position.

If, for example, for the purpose of accelerating the vehicle, the power delivered is to be increased, this can be effected by turning the speed-setting device 28, say, from a low speed position mln. towards the maximum position "max. thereby increasing the tension of the spring 24 and at the same time raising the cam or torque-setting device 30. The ported sleeve'32 will thus'be moved to the left and at the same time the governor sleeve 22 will be moved downwardly so that the fuel delivery to the engine will be increased. At the 'same time, however, in accordance with the profile of the cam 30, the pitch of the impeller blades I! will be altered so as to increase the torque. Theextent of the torque increase thus depends on the profile of the cam 30 which must be so selected as to give the most favorable load for operation of the engine at the speed set by the speed-setting device 28.

When the speedset is lowered by means of the speed-setting device 28 raising the spindle 26, say, from the position nmax. towards the position 411111., the cam 30 is correspondingly lowered and a regulating process which is the reverse of that referred to above will take place. The engine speed will now fall and the torque will be reduced. Thus, with large setting forces a small governor will be sufficient.

In Figure 2 the common control means is generally indicated at II, the governor 2| and speedsetting device 28 being similar tothat described with reference to Figure 1. The sleeve 22 is, however, instead of being positively connected to the fuel regulator. and torque regulator, yieldingly connected to these parts. Thus, the sleeve 22 acts on one end of a lever 40 which is pivotally connected to the control valve 4| of the servo-motor 42 containing a piston 43. The servo-piston 43 is connected by a link 44 to a lever 45 one end of which cooperates with a torque-setting cam 30 horizontally moved by the spindle 26 acting through-a bell crank lever 29, while the other end of the lever 45 is connected to a valve 46 controlling the supply of pressurev medium to and the discharge of pressure medium from the torque regulator or servo-motor 39.

When the valve 4| is raised due to increase of the engine speed, pressure medium is supplied to the servo-cylinder 42 above the piston 43 so that the fuel regulator is moved so as to reduce the fuel supply to the engine. Conversely when the valve 4| is lowered due to the engine speed falling, pressure medium is admitted to the servocylinder 42 beneath the piston 43 and the crank 8a. of the fuel regulator is turned in the counterclockwise direction so as to increase the fuel supply to the engine. It will be seen that'since one end of the lever 40 is connected to the rod of the servo-piston 43 a downward or upward movement of the piston 43 will result in a downward or upward movement of the valve 4|. The valve 4| willthus tend to be returned to the central position shown and for each position of the Figure 2 the construction is somewhat simplified since the valve 46 of the servomotor 39 is itself controlled both by the torque-setting cam 30 and by the servo-piston 43 so that the necessity for providing a ported sleeve cooperating with the valve 46 is obviated.

Though a power unit according to the invention is particularly suitable for the propulsion of rail vehicles, the invention may also be applied to power units for the propulsion of other vehicles, such for example as road vehicles, cross-country tractors or tanks. The invention may also be applied for supplying power to working machines such, for example, as machine tools, or machines for driving cable railways or hoists. Though the invention has been more particularly described as applied to a power unit whose engine is of the fuel injection compression ignition type, the invention may also be applied to power units having engines of the incandescenthead type or with separate ignition, such for example as gas engines or petrol engines.

The invention is also advantageous in that in the case of power units employing engines of the fuel injection compression ignition type, the fuel pump may be controlled so as to regulate both the quantity of fuel and also the timing of the commencement of the fuel injected. The fuel can thus always be injected into the working cyiinder at a point in the stroke of the engine piston which is most favorable for combustion, with different fuel quantities and therefore different loads.

I claim:

1. An internal combustion engine power unit which comprises an engine, a hydraulic transmission gear driven by the engine, a fuel regulator for regulating the admission of fuel to the engine, a speed setting device connected to the fuel regulator for regulating the speed of the engine, a torque regulator for the hydraulic transmission gear, a torque setting device connected to the torque regulator for setting the torque to be maintained by the torque regulator, and coupling means operatively interconnecting the said the engine drives a centrifugal governor operatively connected to the fuel regulator and the 'speed setting device, the torque setting device havinga lever with a fulcrum displaceable by the coupling means.

4. A power unit according to claim 1 in which the engine drives a centrifugal governor which 'is operatively connected to and influences the action of the said devices, the speed setting device operating a lever with a displaceable fulcrum.

5. A power unit according to claim 1 in which a governor is driven by the engine, a servomotor for operating the hydraulic transmission gear,

'said servomotor being provided with control means operatively connectedto the governor and to the coupling means.

6. A power unit according to claim 1 in which the fuel regulator controls a fuel pump which is provided with means of setting the timing of injection-of fuel into the engine, and the coupling 7 means is operatively interconnected to the said devices and to the means for setting the timing of injection of fuel, whereby the setting of the speed, the torque and the timing of admission of fuel are dependent and coordinated.

ADOLF BRUNNER. 

